Da Nang (VNA) - The central city of Da Nang isset to build the first solar farm in the country that could connect to thenational grid as early as the first quarter of 2018, project officials said.

They said that the project is part of the city’sefforts to develop renewable energy and promote ‘green growth’ in the 2017-18period.

The farm will be built on 6.7ha of the closedKhanh Son Landfill in Lien Chieu district at a cost of 112 billion VND (nearly 5million USD). It will have a capacity of 4.4MWp (megawatts photovoltaic),helping reduce nearly 5,000 tonnes of carbon emissions each year.

According to the Bach Khoa Solar PowerInvestment and Development JSC, the project owner, the solar farm will supply7.7 million kWh (kilowatt per hour) per year to the city’s power grid.

In April this year, Prime Minister Nguyen XuanPhuc issued a decision on pricing that aims to encourage the development ofsolar power projects. The Decision 11/2017/QD-TTg, which took effect on June 1,2017, says the output of solar power projects will be purchased for 2,086 VND(9.35 US cent) per kWh (excluding VAT), deemed a profitable rate for investors.

The price will be adjusted in line with the VND/USD exchangerate, and will only apply to power grid-connected projects with cell efficiencyabove 16 percent or productivity module of over 15 percent that are able toconnect to the grid by June 2019.

Solar power project investors will be eligiblefor various other incentives, especially support related to land, investmentcapital and import and corporate income tax.

By the end of July 2017, hundreds of solarprojects had been registered in Vietnam with total capacity of around 17,000MW.

According to the Foreign Investment Agency underthe Ministry of Planning and Investment, only 16 foreign-invested green energyprojects were operating in Vietnam by the end of 2016, with a total registeredcapital of 778 million USD. Of these just 18 percent were investing in solar power.

In Da Nang, solar panels have been installed insome buildings, generating power for home consumption.

In 2011-15, the city cut 12,000 tonnes of carbonemissions and saved 433,000 USD by using nanotechnology in its public lightingsystem.

The city plans to support the installation ofsolar equipment at health centres and schools, and to fund research on solartechnology and management.

Da Nang is said to have great renewable energypotential, with a 90km coastline, 2,000 hours of sunlight per year and anaverage wind speed of 3m per second.

According to a report prepared by the city’sIndustry and Trade Department, around 30 percent of the city’s population usesolar power for water heaters, while around 20 five-star hotels and resorts areusing a solar power water heating system.-VNA